Tree House
by MD14
Summary: O/S - Andy meets Sarah Swarek's brood for the first time.


A/N: This came from a prompt over twitter (Sleeping in his nephews treehouse) and now here it is.

* * *

"Peter. Stop." Sam grumbled, _feeling_ his nephew scheming to draw something on his younger brothers face. Liam always fell asleep first, and Peter was never very original.

Peter sighed, dropped his marker, and threw the flap of his sleeping bag back over top of himself. He stopped being impressed with his uncles ability to sense them a few years ago, but Sam didn't care too much, as long as he was still their favorite uncle.

What was different about this time was Andy trying to muffle her laugh against his chest.

* * *

_"Bring her down next time you come Sammy," Sarah had asked him at breakfast just a couple of months ago. "I think it's time I gave __**my**__ rookie evaluation."_

_Sarah laughed at her own joke, while her younger brother just rolled his eyes before shoveling another spoonful of scrambled eggs into his mouth._

_"We just started figuring this thing out Sare-" He started, knowing his excuses, while valid to him, were weak. "We gotta be careful this time."_

_"I said next time Sammy. The way you avoid me like the plague, Liam will be out of the house by the time you come back." She quipped, taking shots at his absence in her life as of late. _

_He'd always been tough to grab for a visit, but things had improved significantly after he stopped going under. _

_"Just, eventually, okay? I want to meet her."_

* * *

"So you're a well liked uncle then, hmm?" She whispers, a few moments after Peter gave up on getting his brother.

Sam just rolls his head over to her, slightly, giving her a small smile and nodding. He lets his eyes fall the rest of the way shut while she continues to run her hands across his chest under his shirt, toying with the hairs every now and again.

"Liam thinks I'm some kind of wonderful." He sighs, taking a healthy breath of her apple scented shampoo. "Go to sleep. You'll need your energy with these ones tomorrow."

She smiles against his neck, before stretching slightly to kiss his Adam's apple.

"Okay." She mumbles sleepily.

* * *

_"Andy, stop fidgeting." Sam said, nudging his elbow into her ribs as she rocked back on forth on her feet on Sarah's front porch. _

_"Can't help it." She sing song-ed, grabbing blindly at his hand, missing it the first few swipes. When she finally caught it she squeezed, __**hard**__. _

_Neither got another word in on her nerves, because Dan swung the door open just as Sam cringed due to McNally's grip._

_"You must be the famous Andy." He smiled, two boys peeking out from behind their dads legs."Andy, I'd like you to meet Peter, our twelve year old boy genius. And this superstar right here is Liam."_

_Liam gave her a big smile and hello right up front, and Peter shied off slightly more, only speaking up when Sam addressed him directly._

_"And this lovely, glowing vision," Sam began, as a dark haired woman made her way in from the back of the front room. "Is Sarah."_

* * *

It's got to be less than an hour later when Sam and Andy are being jostled by five year-old Liam's little arms.

"Hey buddy. What's wrong?" Sam asks, shaking sleep as quickly as he can. Andy is impressed, and does her best to be as conscious as he is, but can't help but feel the droop lingering on her eye lids.

"I gotta pee." He says, knees buckled together just slightly, stuffed dinosaur tucked carefully under one arm.

Sam begins to move their sleeping bag off of them to get out and take the little boy down out of the tree house and to the bathroom, when Liam's little hands reach out to his shoulders.

"I want Andy to take me." He insists, a little sheepish.

Sam's working on the theory that his nephews have both developed a little crush on his girlfriend, though he's not sure that Liam has worked out what that means just yet. It's Peter he's worried about. Peter figured out the dimples real early...

"Uh..." Is all Sam can muster, but Andy's already pulling on an extra sweater, and holding out her hand for Liam to hold.

She moves to the ladder carefully, going down first, ready to catch Liam in case he stumbles. Sam helps guide him to the ladder, and watches anxiously as he little legs stretch to the steps below him.

When he finally sees Andy reach up and grab his waist when he's close enough, he lets go of a deep breath he didn't know he was holding, and watches them disappear into the houses sliding door.

"Uncle Sam?" Peter mumbles from his sleeping bag, at the foot of theirs.

"Yeah?"

"Your girlfriend is hot."

"Shut up Pete."

* * *

_"He's uh, he seems like... content." Sarah said to Andy when they were in the kitchen, making pasta and salad together earlier that evening. "It's weird, when we were kids he was almost always stressed out, tense, you know? Didn't know how to just take a breather. It really didn't help his asthma."_

_Andy's eyebrows shoot up at that. He'd told her several times what he was like as a kid, but __**never**__ told her a thing about asthma... she'd have to remember to tell Dov the next time she's mad at him._

_"Asthma?" Andy questioned, going back to dicing her cucumber._

_"Well, it's gotten so much better. I bet he got rid of his inhaler... but yeah. Beady eyed dark kid running around the playground wheezing. That was Sammy." Sarah chuckled._

_"I can't even imagine..." Andy began, not sure where she was going with it._

_"He's grown up a lot - and too soon - but he seems like he's in the right place now. So, thanks, for watching out for him." She said, turning to Andy, offering her glassy eyes, and a weak smile._

* * *

Liam had been in the bathroom for about a minute when Sarah emerged from the master bedroom in her robe. Andy smiles sleepily, and Sarah just smiles back understanding.

"Hope they're on their best behaviour." She says, nodding her head toward the door.

Andy laughs and can't help but think of Liam's sweaty little hand in hers, his tiny dimples, his Sam-like jokes and shake her head.

Even Peter, who while, adorable, has been a little removed, was worming his way into her heart.

"They're great Sarah."

They both stop all movements for a moment when they hear the toilet flush, and Liam begins singing 'Happy Birthday,' of course to ensure his hands are thoroughly washed.

Neither woman can hold in the laugh.

"You want them? Kids, I mean... ?" Sarah asks, not thinking much of the weight of the question. Andy's smile fades slowly as she considers revealing the truth to Sarah. Last thing she wants is her running off to Sam telling him what she'd said, and waking up to find him gone because they didn't talk about it first.

"Yeah, eventually, I guess so." She says, dreamily, hoping that if it does get back to Sam, and he's jumpy that she can blame it on the late hour and her lack of rest.

"My advice, don't wait too long. It was hard shedding the pounds after little Liam. And scary. Had a lot of unscheduled checkups with that one." Sarah finishes just in time for her son to appear form the bathroom, still humming 'Happy Birthday.'

"All done!" He announces proudly to Andy, before even noticing his mom.

When he does spot her though, a big grin sweeps over his mouth, and he wraps an arm around her leg.

"Hey buddy. Did Aunty Andy help you out of the tree house?"

Andy can't help but choke on air when she hears the affectionate prefix on her name. She's already Aunty Andy to Leo... but this is so different than that. She's known Leo for years, it's her best friends son. This is her boyfriends nephew. It just feels so permanent.

"Uh huh. Night Mommy."

"Night baby." She whispers softly, bending down to pick him up for a short hug.

She's sure to watch Andy, through her eyelashes, as she rubs her sons back, soothingly, coaxing him back to sleep to make it easier for Andy.

Andy's got this look on her face like she's watching that Sarah Mclachlan SPCA commercial, and they're telling a story of a dog with three legs who saved a child in the road... or something.

Sarah feels her son relax in her arms, before passing him over Andy, who suddenly looks taken aback. But she takes him, jostles him so he's koala-ed to her front, head burrowed into her shoulder.

She's suddenly not too sure of how she's going to get him back up into the tree house, but she'll figure it out. Holding him like this, is just... nice. He's a good cuddler.

"Good night Sarah."

"You too Andy."

* * *

Sam is knocked out when Andy and Liam get back up into the treehouse, so the next time he's shaken awake, its Liam insisting that breakfast is ready.

He looks up to see his nephew already dressed for the day, and notices that sleeping bags around him are empty.

"Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes." Liam squeals, punching Sam's arm urging him to go faster. "Aunty Andy made pancakes!"

Sam finds it curious that Peter's up at 8am... but he supposes that if Andy was asking for helpers, he'd be there. He'd be unenthusiastic about it, but he just gets that from Sam. He can't fool anyone into thinking he wouldn't follow Andy - gets that from Sam too.

And then he realizes what his nephew just said. Aunty Andy.

At first it makes his pulse quicken, but when the butterflies and nausea don't follow, he realizes that he - he likes it. Loves it.

Uncle Sam and Aunty Andy.

"Alright, alright. Just a warning though buddy, they'll probably be lumpy." He says with a grossed out look on his face. Liam grimaces slightly, before Andy's voice interrupts them.

"Hey!"

He looks down the ladder to see her in her flannel pajamas, hands on her hips, hand shielding her eyes from the sun.

"You know I've actually improved!"

Liam still giggles before making his way down, though he looks uncertain about eating her pancakes.

"I'll be the judge of that." He calls back, while watching Liam's little feet stretched to each step of the ladder once again.

Once Andy's got him safely on the ground, and he's disappeared through the kitchen's sliding door, Sam makes his descent, and gives her a proper morning greeting.

"Ew." She says once he's pulled away. "Go brush your teeth."

He grins, eyes still half open, looking down his nose a little at her.

"You never minded before."

"Yeah, well, usually you're doing... other stuff... to... distract me." She says, picking her words very carefully.

His grin goes to a full blown smile after that, and his dimples dig deep into his cheeks.

"Oh yeah?" He asks, moving in for another kiss, moving a hand down to her ass, give it a firm squeeze. But right as its sliding down her back, they hear Peter calling out into the back yard, telling them everybody is ready.

Andy bats his hand away, but grants him a small peck before grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the house.

"Somebody's a little eager." He laughs, an arm's length behind her.

"Yeah. Well, I kind of love them."


End file.
